Tales from across the Worlds
by shanejayell
Summary: Anime romance of the Shoujoai variety
1. Introduction

Tales from Across the Worlds

Introduction

The stage was old fashioned, with curtains on each side leading to back stage. A flood light was shining on the center, but strangely no one was there.

"Do I have to?" a voice came from off stage.

"Yes!" another said firmly.

"Can I at least have another costume?" the voice asked desperately.

"No! Now move it!"

"Eep!" the brown haired girl yelped as she stumbled out onto the stage in a bunny girl outfit. The bathing suit was low cut, showing off her swelling breasts and nice ass, and floppy rabbit ears added a touch of adorableness.

Haruhi Suzumiya stuck her head out from behind the curtain, "Read the script, Mikuru!"

"Uhm, right," Mikuru Asahina checked the page. "This series is in fact a dumping ground for any of Shanejayell's stories that didn't get any reviews." she read dutifully.

"Read the rest of it," Haruhi said as she hesitated.

Mikuru whimpered a bit. "Too make up for the lack on new content, I'll be in your imaginations giving plenty of fanservice!"

"Poor kid," Juri Arisugawa noted, sitting in the audience eating popcorn.

"WHY are we here again?" Minagi asked, the alien pirate sipping her drink.

"So Shane can do a Aruisugawa's Locket crossover if he wants to," Juri shrugged.

"What a hack," Minagi sighed.

"Anyway, hope you enjoy reading!" Mikuru said weakly as she ran off stage.

To be continued...

Notes: Yeah, this is where I'm dumping oneshots with no reviews etc etc.


	2. Kurogane Communication: Love is

Kurogane Communication: Love is...  
  
They exchanged a smile in the hallway, there two seeming opposites. The short, cheerful brown haired girl and the tall, dark haired warrior were so very different, but something bonded them together. The taller one watched the other girl move off for a few moments, standing there in the relative concealment of her doorway.  
  
Angela stepped from the apartment building's brightly lit hallway into the darkness of her room, setting her sword down by the door. Or perhaps it would be best to say the former darkness. The old couch still sat like a lump in one corner, the heavy chair still rested by the window, the roof was hung with wires, but somehow it seemed brighter than it had once been.  
  
Out on the window ledge it sat, the little artificial flower. It was strange, how such a small thing could bring on such a great change. She reached out a gloved hand to it, stroking the petals before she sat down beside it. Long purple hair, the dark purple vest, light purple sleeves on her usual uniform, the visor that concealed her eyes and her expression.  
  
Angela slid the visor up with one hand, revealing a set of surprisingly soft violet colored eyes, an oddity for such a capable warrior. She looked over at the flower, remembering a blood red rose and her fellow android Lavinia's words to her, "I fight for the girl."  
  
She hadn't understood it, in fact Angela didn't even want to try to understand it. After Lavinia was betrayed, then slain by those humans that she had so believed in, Angela had avenged her friend. She slew the promoter, nearly being destroyed by the humans who guarded him in the process. For a long time she had held all humans in contempt, and had been shocked when her companions Spike, Cleric, Reeves and Trigger revived a human girl to serve.  
  
Angela had spoken out against it, sure that the human child would be nothing but trouble for them all, and in a way she had been perfectly right. Haruka, with her reddish brown hair and cheerful manner, her pure, honest kindness, shook Angela to her very core.  
  
Around the child coldness became Angela's chief form of protection, and a gruff manner her greatest weapon. She ignored each and every offering of friendship Haruka extended, every attempt at a kindness. But Haruka remained unchanged, and oddly Angela felt.. drawn to her.  
  
When Haruka had sneaked out of their home without telling anyone where she was going, Angela had been the first one to find her. When the killing machines attacked the two of them Angela had fought, her sword singing as she cut them down one after the other, constantly telling herself that it was only for her own protection that she acted.  
  
Somehow, that rang false to Angela, even then.  
  
But more and more the memories of Lavinia haunted Angela's thoughts. That final duel to the death in the gladiatorial arena, the purple blood that splattered on the pure white floor, Lavinia's body being dragged away from her. She had slain her friend, believing that she would be repaired, but she wasn't. Instead, the former champion had been scrapped, a fate that Angela believed awaited all androids that served humans.  
  
Tormented by the past she had gone to Reeves, asking him to remove all of those painful memories. Even at the cost to herself, her identity, she wanted to be free of the past. But Haruka reached out to her, planting a seed for a rose to give to Angela. Even after she had crushed it beneath her boot Haruka had worked to save it, a gift for Angela.  
  
Angela picked up the flower, twirling it thoughtfully. Haruka had ventured into an abandoned building looking for it, to replace the flower that died. Angela had been in there too, striking out in anger against statues of humans there. Meeting Haruka's eyes she had felt shock and dismay, the conflicted feelings rising up in her again.  
  
The base of the nearby column shattered, the great stone pieces fell, and Angela moved without thinking.  
  
A few moments later Angela awoke to find Haruka crying, looking down at her in fear and alarm, concerned for her welfare. Looking up from where she had fallen after pushing the girl to safety, Angela was struck by a simple but profound realization. This girl would never turn on another, would never betray a trust given. It simply wasn't in Haruka's nature.  
  
Angela felt a burning shame then, understanding how cruelly she had treated the girl. Forcing herself to sit up, she reached for the flower. Taking it into her hand Angela had said to Haruka, "I think the artificial one suits me better."  
  
Angela smiled to herself, setting the flower back into it's little cup. It had been such a little gesture, but Angela felt the walls around her lower just a bit, for this most special person. Her gruff manner remained, but she gave Haruka the occasional smile, a wave.  
  
Angela chuckled to herself softly, the sound echoing in the room. The other androids were more thrown off by her change in behavior than Haruka was, quietly speculating if she was injured, or damaged in some previously undetected form.  
  
The trip to the beach, the very first time that she had actually volunteered to go out on an excursion with them, raised even more questions. "There might still be some danger," probably wasn't the best excuse to have come up with, either. But Haruka smiled that cheerful smile at her, and Angela just couldn't help herself.  
  
The ocean brought such an innocent pleasure to Haruka, the band doing the traditional activities of a family at the beach. A swimsuit was even offered to her, and feeling herself blush Angela turned it down hastily. The idea of her body being exposed to their gaze, and especially to Haruka's made her deeply uncomfortable, but why she didn't know.  
  
When heatstroke struck Haruka down Angela had been full of fear, especially after Cleric's warning that it could be fatal. Spike had panicked loudly, while her fear was more quiet, gazing down at the feverish girl worriedly. She had loudly protested when Reeves intended to leave her there watching over Haruka, not because of any indifference, but instead out of the stark fear that Angela's care would not be enough to help her.  
  
Nightmares haunted the restlessly sleeping Haruka, and Angela fretted by her side. A dampened cloth across her brow seemed to help, but the fever dreams tormented the girl, her whimpers making Angela gaze down at her in fear. Bolting awake Haruka shuddered, and Angela reached out a comforting hand, sliding her visor up to reveal violet eyes.  
  
"I had a bed dream," the shaking of Haruka's voice making this an understatement, "a very bad dream." With a cry Haruka pressed her face to Angela's front, clinging to her, tearfully pleading to stay like that for awhile.  
  
After a moments stunned shock Angela had wrapped her arms comfortingly around the smaller girl, holding her close. Silently she wished that she could make everything all right for Haruka, to make it all well. When the others returned she returned to her cool poise, but the gratitude from the girl was unmistakable.  
  
The sun was going down, and Angela smiled to herself. In just a little while Haruka would be standing at her door to remind her that it was dinner time, and they would walk down together. They talked quietly, about the day that past, Haruka warm and engaging, and Angela trying to keep up with her youthful exuberance.  
  
Angela still didn't understand all that Lavinia had said, not entirely. But she knew that she fought for someone, too, and that person was Haruka. She would watch over her, protect her, and if they actually found other surviving humans, she would let her go.  
  
It would break her heart, but Angela would do it.  
  
There was a human word, one that Angela had only recently began the study of: love. The definition that most struck her was caring for another more than your own welfare. If that was so, then she knew that she loved Angela, loved her enough to give her the fellow humans that she would need to survive, for her species to survive.  
  
A tapping at the door, and Haruka's cheerful voice, "Angela?"  
  
She could feel herself smiling as Angela answered her, "Yes?"  
  
Haruka pushed open the door, beaming at her. "Dinner's ready," she smiled happily.  
  
"Then lets go," Angela stepped up beside her, picking up her sword and then slinging it over her shoulder. 'I will protect her, no matter what,' she vowed to herself silently as they moved down the hallway together.  
  
End.  
  
Author's Notes: I based this around the first DVD of Kurogane Communication, and is a interpretation of Angela and Haruka's relationship shown there. While I'm a big shoujo-ai fan, I really didn't see how there two could have a real relationship in the context of the series, but I could easily see a deeper feeling developing in Angela for Haruka. Hope you enjoyed this, and try my other fics! 


	3. Nurse Witch 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Nurse Witch Komugi, I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Also, this story is based on the first DVD of Komugi, begining shortly before episode #2.5.

Nurse Witch Komugi: Asuka's Story

Asuka Sakurai stuck her head into the office, watching with wide eyes as the two young women argued away. The taller, green haired woman was beautiful, but her most obvious feature was the full breasts filling out her tank top. The shorter, red-pink haired girl was far less developed, but she had a cute manner that would easily win people over.

"Hah, the only reason that you get so many jobs is because of your cow-like breasts," the shorter girl complained.

Tossing her head the taller haired girl said, "You're lucky being a stuffed costume girl doesn't require looks, stick girl."

"It's cosplay, not stuffed costume," the other girl growled.

"Break it up!" the older woman demanded, the lovely lady loudly slapping her hand on the table in the comfortable meeting room. Yui Kirijara's eyes zeroed in on where Asuka watched, "If you hadn't noticed, we have a guest." Softening her voice, "Welcome, Miss Sakurai."

Both girls jumped, clearly not having seen her there. The smaller girl bowed quickly, her cheeks red. "I'm sorry," she said, "you may not remember from when we met on the set that time, but I'm Komugi Nakahara."

"I know," Asuka returned the bow as she drew on the research she had done before coming here, "I heard your new single, it's very catchy."

"Thank you," Komugi beamed.

Giving her a wary look the taller girl said, "Megumi Akiba."

"Nice to meet you," Asuka smiled pleasantly, "a friend of mine has one of your calendars, you do very good work."

Relaxing a bit Megumi flipped her hair back, "Of course I do."

Hiding a smile Yui ordered the two girls, "If you'll excuse us, Miss Sakurai and I have to talk some business." Both girls left the room quickly, still quietly snipping at each other as they did, then Yui waved Asuka over to the couch. "I'm sorry about that," Yui said as she sat down gracefully, careful to keep her skirt neat.

"It's quite all right, Ms Kirihara" Asuka said, feeling Yui's studying gaze on her. Her black hair was neatly tied in two ponytails on either side of her head, her simple dress suit neat as usual. 'Too bad my life is so much less neat, now,' she thought.

"I was pleasantly surprised when you made the apointment for this meeting," Yui said, pouring them both some tea.

"I've heard a lot about your agency," Asuka said, being careful not to say exactly what she had heard, "and I was curious if you'd consider managing me."

"Normally I'd leap at the chance," Yui said to her honestly, "but there are some lingering questions that bother me."

"Oh?" Asuka tensed a bit, wondering what she might have heard.

Yui drank her tea thoughtfully, "You're a capable action actress who might not still be on the rise but is still quite successful. You are a valuble comodity in our world, and your agency wouldn't be letting you go without good cause." Reluctantly she added, "And moving to Kiri Pro will likely hurt your career in the long term."

"You're as sharp as I heard," Asuka drank some tea to settle her nerves.

"I'm willing to take you on, I'd be a fool not to," Yui gave her a serious look, "but I also need to know why you're coming to me."

Asuka looked down into her teacup, turning the traditional round cup in her hands uncomfortably. "When my previous management found out they decided I was a scandal waiting to happen," she confessed.

"Found out what?' Yui asked gently.

"It won't leave this office?" Asuka asked.

"I promise," Yui said promptly.

Asuka studied Yui a moment, but knew she had no choice but to trust her, not if she wanted her as a manager. "My prevous management found out about my sexuality," Asuka said reluctantly, "I'm a lesbian."

"That had to have been uncomfortable," Yui noted without batting an eye.

"You have no idea," Asuka sighed. "Once word got around the agency no one would even be in the bathroom with me..."

"That's foolish," Yui said dryly, "I doubt you were interested in every girl you saw."

Asuka felt a bit of amusement at how capable Yui was at getting her to mention the type of women she liked. "I think a few of those models would have been disapointed," she admitted, "as I prefer older women."

"Hmm," Yui seemed entirely unbothered by that revelation. She drank some tea silently then said, "All right, I'll manage you but there's a condition."

"Yes?" Asuka asked warily.

"I'm not asking you to give up sex, I'd be a fool to even try," Yui said briskly, "but I would request that you be descrete. I think we can avoid a scandal, especially if we're all careful."

"That's your condition?' Asuka hesitated, "I expected a order to stay away from your other actresses, at least."

"I have a little girl, a cosplay idiol who looks forteen and a centerfold model on staff," Yui shrugged, "I doubt any of them would be to your taste." Her eyes hardened like ice,. "And if I found out you had slept with any of them I'd kick your ass and fire you."

"Understood," Asuka bowed, hoping her gesture would hide her now faintly red cheeks. The surprisingly butch attitude from Yui had set her heart beat to racing, almost as much as the older woman's beauty had.

Yui stood, offering her hand after Asuka echoed the gesture. "Then welcome aboard to Kiri Pro," she said, "we'll sit down and discuss contracts whenever you're ready."

"Later this afternoon?' Asuka asked hopefully, anxious to be under management once again. Privately she admitted she wanted to see more of Yui, too.

"All right," Yui nodded, "One o'clock. I'll have Shiro Mibu there too, he'll be handling the day to day affairs of your management."

"I'll look forward to meeting him," Asuka bowed before excusing herself.

A few minutes later Yui used the intercom to call Shiro, the light blue haired woman sitting back thoughtfully. "Yeah?" Shiro asked casually as he entered, his own blue-gray hair roughtly styled.

"What have you heard about Asuka Sakurai?" Yui asked promptly.

"A rising action starlet, having problems with her management," Shiro shrugged. He looked almost bad boy like, even in business wear as he said, "And there a few murky rumors floating around about her in the background."

"Like?' Yui asked promptly.

Shiro slouched in a seat, "She may or may not have had an affair with a assistant manager, though since her last one was a lady I kind of doubt it. A few older starlets have quietly complained of her snubbing them, too."

'Which fits if she was drawn to them and afraid,' Yui mentally noted. "Well, we've just taken her on as a client," she said to him briskly, "so I want you to start digging into the rumors as much as you possibly can. I want names, backgrounds, the whole nine yards."

"Got it. Signing her is quite a coup for Kiri Pro," Shiro nodded thoughtfully, "but what does she get out of it?"

"As you said, she's having trouble with her old management," Yui waved it off.

Shiro gave her a look, "Sure, don't tell me. I'll figure it out eventually, you know."

Yui just smiled slightly. "We'll be meeting with her again at one, and I expect you there," she ordered calmly.

"Will do," Shiro waved as he left.

'Dating with a manager,' Yui thought as she looked out over the city, faintly surprised by the pulse of excitement she felt. With a firm shake of her head she dispelled that thought, she knew the sort of harm a manager dating a starlet could do, she had learned that personally.

To be continued...


	4. Nurse Witch 2

Nurse Witch Komugi: Asuka's Story Two

Yui Kirijara watched her girls helping work the cosplay cafe, her emotions still a bit unsettled from her earlier meeting with Richard, her former manager and now the head of his own agency. Their love affair had nearly destroyed her career as a actress, and it still haunted her now.

'And that damn Shiro had to blab what he knew to Komugi,' Yui thought with annoyance, 'it'll probably be all over the agency in hours.' She shook her head, trying to gather her control as she saw Asuka Sakurai race to serve another customer.

All the waitresses had dressed up, of course, they all knew that sales and their pay would depend on their looks. Kogumi looked adorable dressed in her gothic catgirl outfit, Megumi was sexy as hell as a pseudo-cowgirl, little Runa was sweet as a fairy and even Koyori looked daring as a maid... but Asuka stood out.

Deciding not to go with the ultra girly look chosen by the other girls Asuka wore an adaptation of a waiter's outfit, with a blood red jacket with black lining, white ruffled shirt and long black pants. Even with her girlish black hair she looked dashing and handsome, drawing the eye of more than one female fan.

Even Yui found herself feeling a faint twinge of attraction, something that she found oddly surprising. Men were always her weakness, not someone like Asuka, and it was disturbing her quite a bit. 'Concentrate on work,' she reminded herself firmly.

"How's it going?" Shiro asked from right behind her, nearly making her jump.

"Don't do that!" she whirled around to glare at the spikey haired man who had crept up behind her. With his scar on his face and the cheap cigarettes he liked to smoke the gray haired man looked like a bad boy, but in reality he was quite good at his job. Recovering her composure she asked, "How's the project going?"

Casually drawing on his smoke Shiro said, "We're looking good. I've got threads going on several of the yuri fan groups speculating on her sexuality, and the demographics look good. I'd say her fanbase is increasing steadily."

Yui smiled, the first real comfortable smile she'd had all day, "Good."

After some serious consideration Yui had realized that just hiding Asuka's sexuality would do them no good. All the rumors circling around her old agency along with what was known of her history would cause the truth to be revealed eventually, and probably disastrously. So instead they were subtlety building it into her profile, steering her towards ambiguously sexual roles and building a positive fan base.

Shiro tapped ash into a empty cup as he asked, "So when are you planning on breaking our campaign to her?"

"It'll have to be soon," Yui admitted, "the script for the lesbian character I've been trying to get for her just hit my desk."

"I'm glad I'm not going to be there for that conversation," Shiro chuckled.

"Coward," Yui sighed.

"Excuse me," Shiro finally put his cigarette out and collected his ash cup to throw out somewhere, "I'd better go make sure Kogumi and Megumi don't kill each other."

"Good luck," Yui smiled slightly.

Asuka saw Yui and Shiro talking together again and felt a sudden stab of jealousy. The two had a closeness that was intimate, yet also casual, and it was much like that of a pair of lovers. 'Never mind,' she reminded herself as she hurried to serve a table full of girls, 'keep it professional.'

Still, it was easier said than done. Yui was almost everything Asuka liked, a beautiful, self confident and mature older woman, one who knew the ways of the world. The occasional sad, regretful look that would pass on Yui's face only made Asuka want to comfort her, and the flares of temper showed passion beneath a cool surface.

Taking a break by the kitchen Asuka smiled a bit wryly at Kogumi's friend, the idol Koyori. The busty, beautiful black haired girl looked gorgeous, and if she was older she might have even atracted Asuka. Sadly, she was just too immature.

"So are you enjoying the cafe?" Koyori asked, adjusting her skimpy little maid's outfit entirely unselfconsciously.

"Yes," Asuka nodded as she admitted, "though I was wondering why the lady customers are mostly asking for me."

Koyori blinked innocemntly, "Didn't you know? I understand most of them are your fans from the websites."

"Websites?" Asuka asked, feeling a odd sinking sensation.

"Yes," Koyori nodded firmly, "one of them talked about it to me. They were called yuricon and shoujoai, I think."

"Oh my..." Asuka felt her knees give way, grabbing on the counter as it seemed like her worst nightmare was about to be coming true, the revealing of her deepest, darkest secret. "Excuse me," she said, hurrying off to find Yui.

Yui looked up, seeing a visibly pale Asuka rushing towards her. Straightening up she looked at Asuka, "Are you all right?"

"It's.. I..." Asuka gulped. Gathering the tattered remnants of her self control she said to Yui, "They know!"

Yui gave her a sympathetic look, taking her by the arm gently. "Come on," her voice was softly, "let's go talk." Together they went out of the cafe tent, standing alone out in the sun. "So," she smiled, "what happened?"

Quietly, Asuka explained what Koyori had revealed, feeling a deep sence of dread and remembering the dire warnings of her previous management. "I'm sorry," she finally said softly, suddenly certain that it was all her fault.

"No, I am," Yui said as she reached out to comfortably squeeze Asuka's arm, "if I had realized you'd be this distressed I would have told you sooner." With that Yui explained the strategy she and Shiro were using, including the hinting at her true sexuality.

Asuka was gaping at her, her expression faintly stunned. "But..." she started weakly, "my previous manager said revealing that would be career suicide."

"With your previous image it might have been," Yui agreed. "Your film roles were mostly heroines who ended up with the guy, or were pure good girls," she said, "and if the truth about you came out your fans would have been shocked."

Asuka felt a light dawning, "Which is why you've been having me do such different roles."

"We've been sliding you away from your good girl image as well as spreading a careful sort of speculation online," Yui agreed. She looked thoughtful, "I can't say your popularity won't suffer somewhat, but it won't be nearly as bad as it could have been."

"So I can finally be open," Asuka murmured softly, her eyes filled with a kind of wonder.

"I'd still like you to be descrete," Yui cautioned, "but yes."

Asuka looked up at Yui with eyes filled with adoration, her smile a bit weak but growing. "Thank you," she managed, "I never thought..."

Yui felt her cheeks coloring faintly, looking away from the other woman's gaze. "I'm glad you're happy," she said, "I didn't want you to regret coming to Kiri Pro."

Asuka stepped a bit closer, "I've never been happier since meeting you."

'Oh dear,' Yui thought as it almost seemed like Asuka was hypnotically drawing her closer. Softly she managed to say, "This isn't a good..."

Asuka pressed her lip's to Yui's, cutting off the words as the fire of their mutual attraction sparked between them. The lingered a moment, then she drew back as Asuka sighed, "I wanted to do something like this since I first saw you in your office."

Yui had unconsciously slid her arms around Asuka during their kiss. "I'm your manager," she managed, drawing back.

Asuka tightenned her grip, "No you're not, Shiro is. In fact, you've deliberately kept away from me professionally..."

"It's still inapropriate," Yui said, remembering her own painful affair with a manager, "people will think I hired you as a bedmate."

Asuka actually chuckled at that. "If you had you would have slept with me weeks after you hired me," she smiled, "you knew I was willing." She reached up to caress Yui's cheek, "I'm not some innocent, and you're no predatory boss."

Yui gulped, knowing that this was a bad idea, but feeling her resistance crumbling on many levels. "Let's try dinner first," she managed to get past a tight throat, "then we'll see."

"I'd like that," Asuka quickly kissed her again then rushed back into the cafe with a spring to her step.

End

Notes: The Nurse Witch Komugi series mentions that Asuka is a successful actress who switches to Kiri Pro, but why she does so is never revealed... except that it's really a step down for her. It sort of nibbled at me after seeing the series, and this fic eventually came out of it. Asuka appears in episode #1 but she's not formally named as a member of Kiri Pro until #2.5, so I assumed she joined sometime in between.


	5. Gundam Seed: Farewell

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. Dialog bits were lifted from Gundam Seed Manga #4. This also contains spoilers if you haven't seen the later episodes...

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed

Farewell

Natarle Badgiruel looked down at her captain in shock as the black haired woman blinked in surprise, "Huh?"

Captain Murrue Ramus looked up at her from where she was seated at her desk with a certain degree of amusement as she said, "Headquarters just sent me word that you're being transferred." The dark brown haired woman stood up as she met her second in command's stunned gaze and continued, "Apparently, you're getting a special promotion. They're making you the captain of a new ship."

"Me...?" Natarle breathed out, the lifelong military officer's eyes filled with joy.

Murrue offered her hand as she warmly said, "Congratulations."

Natarle took it firmly, smiling a she breathed out, "Th... thank you."

"Good luck, Lt. Commander Badgiruel," Murrue said quietly.

"Captain Ramus..." Natarle started, then hesitated.

"Yes?" Murrue asked, her expression curious.

"Nothing," Natarle quicky said, flushing. "Excuse me," she said as she hurried out of the office with surprising haste.

'I wonder what that was about?' Murrue thought to herself quizzically before returning to her work. Later on the bridge she nodded to the young men and women there, feeling a slight pang at realizing they'd be gone soon, too. 'It's for the best,' she mused, knowing that her volunteer staff would soon be replaced by Earth Alliance soldiers.

Entering the bridge Mu La Flaga made quite a dashing figure, and Murrue had to smile slightly as he effortlessly charmed the ladies. "So, how did Natarle take the news?" he asked her, smiling warmly as he stood beside her.

"Surprised," Murrue smiled slightly in reply, "but in a good way." She frowned, thinking of Natarle's odd moment of hesitation.

Mu gave her a thoughtful look, "What?"

"I almost thought Natarle was going to say something more," Murrue admitted after a moment, "then she left."

"She's not the type to hesitate," Mu frowned after a moment's thought. Looking forward he mused, "She's leaving soon..."

Murrue nodded slightly, quickly making a decision. "You have the bridge," she addressed the senior officer, turning and hurrying off.

In her quarters Natarle finished packing, sweeping the room with her eyes to make sure she had all her personal effects. The spartan quarters were largely unchanged by her living there for so long, but Natarle knew she would miss it, a little.

The chime rang and Natarle looked up with a frown, "Yes?"

The door opened quietly and Murrue entered the room, the other woman looking around her curiously before meeting Natarle's surprised gaze. "I wanted to see you before you left," she nervously explained.

"Captain," Natarle nodded respectfully.

"Murrue," she corrected her firmly, "you may still be on my ship, but you're no longer under my command."

Natarle hesitated, "I doubt the military would see it that way."

"Well," Murrue sat down on the bed, "we both know I've never been the spit and polish military type you'd have preferred."

"That's not entirely true," Natarle admitted after a moment, "you have a... bond with the crew I envy, honestly."

"Maybe," Murrue said wryly. Looking up at Natarle she said quietly, "Back in my office, what were you going to say?"

Natarle looked startled, "Why do you ask?"

Murrue looked at her seriously, "Natarle, we're in the middle of a war... it's quite possible I'll never have the chance to ask again."

"Don't say that," Natarle shook her head firmly, clearly distressed by the idea.

"Natarle, what's going on?" Murrue asked softly, reaching out to lay a hand on her arm.

Taking off her uniform cap Natarle pushed her hair back from her eyes, studying Murrue with a intense look. "Did you mean it when you said I'm no longer under your command?" she asked Murrue.

Murrue looked at her curiously, "Yes...?"

Natarle leaned forward, gently pressing her lips to the surprised Murrue's. Pulling back she smiled, "Because there is no way I'd do that to a commanding officer."

"You... I..." Murrue looked mildly stunned, a remarkably cute look for her. "I thought you liked Mu?" she managed.

Natarle chuckled softly, "No, I like him but not... that way." She looked at Murrue questioningly, "You're... all right about this?"

Murrue looked at her wryly, "I'm a bit surprised... why didn't you say anything to me before now?"

Natarle shrugged slightly, "I'm career military, Murrue. It wouldn't help my chances of promotion if this ever got out..."

"I understand," Murrue agreed wryly, knowing her own preference for the technical side of fleet operations kept her relatively safe from such concerns.

Natarle gently reached out to stroke her cheek as she told Murrue, "I've admired you a long time, you know."

Murrue hesitated, "I've never..."

Natarle drew her hand back, "I'm sorry, I..."

Murrue caught her hand, cradling it in hers as she said, "I've never done this before, but I'm certainly willing to try."

Natarle grinned with a surprising degree of roguishness, "Are you sure you want to risk it? You might never want to go back."

Murrue smiled as she kissed Natarle lingeringly, "Oh, I think I'll chance it."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I've got to go," Natarle sighed afterward, very reluctantly pulling away from Murrue's naked body.

"I know," Murrue agreed, getting up too and stretching languidly. She smiled at Natarle, "You know, I think I'll miss you."

"Because of this?" Natarle asked as she got dressed.

"No, because of all our arguments," Murrue teased. A bit more seriously she said, "You've been a good friend, Natarle. I won't forget that."

Natarle nodded as she met Murrue's gaze, "And I won't forget you." She stepped close and kissed her gently in farewell, "Good luck, Captain."

"Good luck, Lieutenant Commander Badgiruel," Murrue answered softly as Natarle finished dressing and hurried from the room.

End

Notes: I always felt sorta sorry for Natarle, considering her ultimate fate in Seed. She also lacks romance, tho I understand in a game based off Seed she's interested in Mu, so I tossed a reference to that in too. Not canon at all, and she's not gay in the series. lol


	6. Newsflesh: Updates

Disclaimer: I own none of the Newsflesh series or concepts, they all belong to Mira Grant aka Seanan McGuire. Don't sue me, I'm broke anyway. This story is set after Blackout and has spoilers for the entire Newsflesh trilogy.

Updates

I'm still trying to get my head around everything we've learned in just a few weeks. The Center for Disease Control has been experimenting with Kellis-Amberlee to make it stronger? And the CDC was behind a plot to control the federal government? And Georgia Mason is BACK FROM THE DEAD as a clone?

Some days you just don't want to get out of bed...

-From Down the Rabbit Hole, the blog of Alice Hastings, September 21, 2041

Alice Hastings followed the four troops, the slightly mousy young newsie doing her best to keep up. She wore typical gear for her job, long sleeved shirt and trousers to protect from zombies grabbing her, sunglasses to keep any splatter from getting into her eyes. Her light brown hair was almost blond from the bleaching she got regularly, especially when she didn't get the time to dye it. How she got here... well, that was complicated.

The blog entry on 'After the End Times' from Georgia Mason that revealed the CDC was the head of a conspiracy to manipulate the US hit the country like a bombshell. Well, actually, it was the President of the United States guest blogging on her site that did it. Of course, immediately afterwards the shit hit the fan. A mob fell on several remote CDC branches, in one case breaking in and killing CDC employees.

Now, Alice was as behind vigilante justice as the next woman. Hell, if what Georgia reported was true and the CDC was behind all the major outbreaks since the Rising, not to mention them murdering people with Reservoir Conditions, she'd be right there helping out. But there were innocent people in those CDC offices, poor fools like Kelly Connolly who had no idea their bosses were corrupt.

National Guard units were deployed to the CDC buildings, officially to protect the facilities and people inside. Unofficially they were also keeping the doctors under house arrest as the government tried to weed out the guilty employees from the innocent. And all of this was made even more complicated by the fact the conspiracy was willing to use Kellis-Amberlee as a weapon.

What was Alice doing here? Well, that was complicated too. She was a newsie for After the End Times, who had been hired on shortly after Shawn Mason, Becks and the others went underground. She was a Beta, helping with other stories while doing her own thing on her 'Down the Rabbit Hole' blog, but she got some decent stories out. Enough for Mahir to recognize her talent and move her up to a higher rung.

In the aftermath of the CDC blog post, After the End Times was THE site for news, and they had a reputation for honesty that couldn't be beat. AS the CDC mess unfolded VP Richard Cousins asked After the End to report on what was going down, to help reassure the American public that all reasonable steps were being taken and the government was being entirely transparent on the situation.

And guess who got tapped to follow a raid on a CDC facility?

Alice stayed close to Seanan Ward, the liaison officer that was assigned to her. "Why are we breaking in through the fence?" she asked as the six man team worked to bridge the electric current and cut the chain link fence.

Seanan smiled slightly, the redhead scanning their surroundings. "We're hoping to take the director by surprise," she answered her mildly, "there's some risk he has live samples of Kellis-Amberlee available."

"I see," Alice nodded slightly, "but do you really think he'd use it?"

"Well, his involvement with the conspiracy means he's already in deep," Seanan shrugged, "he might think he has nothing left to loose."

"Okay we're ready," the officer nearest the fence noted. "Stay in single file as we cross the lawn. Security should be down due to a hack, but better to be careful," Ash Jameson ordered.

"Come on," Seanan stayed close to Alice, a comforting presence as they filed through the hole then across the green, manicured lawn. The CDC building was a white block in the twilight, designed with no low windows to help stave off Zombie attacks. And, probably not coincidentally, to keep normal folks out too.

They reached the side door, and the same officer who bypassed the fence produced a small box and keycard. Herbert deftly slid the card in, then studied the keypad intently. He typed a few moments, then the lock pinged slightly and the door swung open. "Good to go," he reported.

Inside the CDC was a maze, but that was to be expected. All CDC facilities were designed that way, because zombies had notoriously bad short term memory and would be unable to navigate it. They advanced as a group, following a map provided by agents of the EIS, who had infiltrated the CDC in the past. They walked down white halls past white doors, the place eerily quiet as they advanced.

"I don't like this," Sgt. Takashi Kenneth muttered, the Texan's soft drawl giving his voice a sweet sort of sound.

"Where is everybody?" Alice had to ask, just as a low moan echoed down the hall.

"Oh crap," Seanan sighed, all of them recognizing the sound of a zombie.

"Move!" Ash ordered, urging them down the hallway towards their destination and away from the zombies. They raced down the hall even as they could hear the zombies getting louder behind them, Herbert checking the digital map they were provided.

"Here!" Herbert said as they reached a unmarked door.

Ash didn't hesitate, shoving the door open as the moans up the hall got louder. They rushed in, cramming into the office, then flinched as the smell of death washed over them.

"Oh damn," Alice hissed softly.

The local director of the CDC was slumped over his desk, apparently having shot himself in the head to prevent amplification. Alice inched closer, seeing a suicide note on the desk as she covertly got a few shots. She assumed it was the typical 'woe is me, I'm misunderstood' thing. She would be more sympathetic, except it appeared he had filled the building with zombies.

"Well, this mission is a bust," Ash sighed.

"Do you think the outbreak in here was intentional?" Alice had to ask.

"Hard to say," Herbert mused as the team swiftly searched the office, "could be deliberate, but someone dying in a accident can happen. All it really takes is one zombie under the right conditions, after all."

"Got his files at least," Takashi noted as he finished downloading critical information from the desktop PC.

"So?" Seanan asked as they gathered by the desk and tried to ignore the smelly corpse, "what now, sir?"

"Get out, with the data and hopefully with the team intact," Ash said honestly. He looked at Herbert, "Is there a alternate way out?"

"We have general schematics of CDC labs," Herbert said reluctantly, "but there are variations from lab to lab."

"So we don't know for sure if the maps are right," Alice noted.

"Pretty much," Takashi agreed.

"Well, I vote we do not go out the way we came, considering there are zombies there," Alice added dryly.

"The other door from this office," Herbert nodded to the door opposite the one they entered in, "leads towards the labs. Good bet we'll find more zombies, but there's also emergency exits."

"Miss Alice, stay to the center of the group," Ash ordered then addressed the rest of the team, "and let's go."

The corridor was quiet, but off in the distance they could hear the low moan indicating zombies were out there. They moved down the hall steadily, passing the silvery windows that were one way mirrors. One or two rooms had someone in them, the poor souls already having become zombies.

'Wonder if they can see us?' Alice thought as they hurried along. Her former boss Georgia Mason had a Reservoir condition in her eyes, leaving them much like zombies, and she could see a much broader range of light. Also sensitive as hell, but...

"Movement," Seanan called out softly.

A zombie had shuffled around the corner up ahead, then upon seeing them began to lurch towards them. Calmly Ash brought his rifle up and fired, splattering it's brains against the wall and killing it, again.

"Wish we didn't have to do that," Ash muttered as they hurried along.

"Huh?" Alice blinked then realized what he meant. The rifle would draw the attention of any zombies in this wing.

Almost cued by her thoughts the moans of the zombies echoed off in the distance, getting louder. The group followed the map as fast as they could, despite the confusing sameness of the white corridors. Eventually they made it to the doors, the five of them feeling a bit of relief.

"Keying door now," Herbert said, attaching his computer to the device. As none of them were staff they weren't registered with the biosensors, which meant they needed to 'coax' the device a bit.

"You'd think it'd be designed to let any non-infected out," Takashi muttered as he and the others kept a eye on the hall, waiting for the zombies to come.

"They may not have wanted unauthorized people to be able to escape," Seanan noted dryly.

Alice nodded grimly, pistol in hand. "Like when Shaun Mason and his crew were trapped in one," she noted dryly. The first zombie staggered around the corridor as she muttered, "Oh crap."

Takashi dropped this one with his rifle, but there were more coming right behind it. He, Ash and Seanan took aim and fired, carefully going for head shots to conserve bullets. The bodies dropped, slowing the progress of the zombies, but they kept advancing steadily.

"Herbert, progress?" Ash snapped.

"Nearly there," he answered as Herbert typed away.

Alice had her pistol in hand and was firing, the training she got with the site Irwin's paying off. She was a decent shot, though not on the army's level, and she was dropping her fair share of the zombies. As she shot she mentally kept track of her ammo... if things went really bad, she wanted to save a bullet for herself.

"Herbert," Seanan growled as she fired.

"Almost got it," Herbert answered then there was the beautiful sound of the door unlocking. "It's open! Go!"

Firing a lot more wildly all three troopers went full auto, hosing the zombies with bullets to damage and slow down as many of them as they could, then the group raced into the passage, slamming the door behind them. They jogged up to the exit door and were each blood tested, then once the lights went green they spilled out onto the lawn of the CDC.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

So, it looks like the CDC branches are going to be more trouble than anyone anticipated. While we have a apparently honest head of the organization in Washington, the same staff is running most of the branch offices. Staff that, frankly, was willingly behind the CDC's plan to control the government and use the KA virus as a weapon.

Representatives of the Feds are going to negotiate with the branch managers, as I understand it, and try to get the crooked ones to surrender peacefully. If that doesn't work, though, there are gonna have to be more raids like the one I joined in on.

Apparently Ash liked how I handled myself, as he's invited me to accompany them on the next raid. Which my first reaction was, "Oh HELL no." But... it's a hell of a story, and the vid I got of the raid is already getting a lot of hits.

God... I sound like a Irwin!

-From Down the Rabbit Hole, the blog of Alice Hastings, September 22, 2041

Notes: While I liked Blackout, the final book of the Newsflesh trilogy, it left some dangling plot threads. The CDC, while defeated and exposed, was left functioning, and cleaning out the badguys from the innocent staff would be one hell of a job. There's also the whole Florida situation, and if the government would attempt to reclaim the region, and probably other plot threads too.

Ash is named for Ash of the Evil Dead series, Herbert is from the Re-animator films, and Takashi is from Highschool of the Dead. Seanan is intended as a female version of Shaun of the Dead, as well as a tip of the hat to series author Seanan McGuire.


End file.
